
Disclaimer: Yes the piece is entirely structured around the lyrics of a Pulp song. Yes, we take requests.

I do not profess to be, as way too many in the tech industry do today, a blockchain guru or subject matter expert. I leave that designation to 11:FS co-founder Simon Taylor. Simon is the MacGyver of the blockchain community. Give him a stapler, a can of Bud Lite, Duct Tape, and a flashlight, and he will somehow concoct a DLT smart contract solution for a client. A solution that can actually be delivered and that addresses a real business case.

Simon Taylor interviewed block.one CEO and CTO Brendan Blumer and Daniel Larimer at Blockchain Live, to find out more about what block.one does and their new project, EOS that achieved $50omillion in fundraising.

One of the biggest challenges when building new digital financial services is creating a winning feature set. Spending categorisation, budgeting tools, carbon footprint-tracking — these features are everywhere in the financial services apps that we use every day.

Sarah Kocianski sits down with the CEO of Oakam, Frederic Nze to talk about financial inclusion, tackling financial exclusion, the alternative to doorstep lending, and the underbanked.Listen to the full interview here or click play below, otherwise read on for a quick take on what was said.

In a beautiful flat on the edge of San Francisco’s sun-kissed Inner Sunset neighbourhood, the inimitable Sam Maule invited a plethora of fintech experts over for dinner. Across two evenings in the run up to our After Dark San Francisco show, Sam serves up chilli, tacos, and foodie fintech insights. You can listen to them here and here. Disclaimer: The food was actually cooked by Ollie Judge, Head of Media at 11:FS.

At 11:FS, we spend a lot of time looking at next-generation mobile trends and technology. Every now and again we come across a product or feature that just blows us away. It can be as simple as a smart integration with another product or as complicated as a whole app that’s powered by bleeding edge technology.

“Thank you to the Academy…” Sure. Classic Oscar speech energy.But do you know what hits harder than a polite golf clap from a panel of judges? Winning when your actual customers vote. And that’s what happened at the 2025 British Bank Awards, where 11:FS was named Consultancy of the Year. Again! 2019. 2020. 2021. 2023. And now 2025.

In her latest column for Forbes, 11:FS Head of Research Sarah Kocianski examines the new set of authentication procedures and how they are being implemented by UK banks.

11:FS are pleased to announce that Lisa Gansky joined us as a Non-Executive Director, on 3rd July 2017.

As a designer, it’s an all too familiar scenario: you’re about to undertake work on an exciting new digital product or service. It has the potential to have it all, only for you to be handed what all product designers dread - the existing constraints of a rigid and outdated brand playbook. It can certainly feel like a crushing blow. But approached in the correct manner, these constraints can be transformed into an opportunity to take both the product and the brand to the next level.

Digital Banking is only 1% Finished. That’s our motto at 11:FS. You can see it plastered across everything we do, we talk about it at events, and it’s in all of our client work. Taking a paper statement to the telephone, to a website and then a mobile app isn’t where digital banking ends; it’s where it begins. Digital Banking having 99% to go is a statement of optimism, of opportunity and its how you differentiate, as consumer expectations will only grow in the coming years.

On 1st August at approximately 12:20 UTC, the cryptocurrency known as Bitcoin formally began a process to fork – or split into two- creating Bitcoin Cash, a new currency. It is unclear exactly what the implications of this will be in the long term but here’s a summary of what we know so far:

It’s about trust. Why do banks insist on having everything? Because they think if they only insist on some, they’ll never get the rest.

Fintech is technology used in the financial services industry, insurtech is technology used in a subset of that industry, insurance. And yet while one is typically considered fascinating, worthy of pages of mainstream media coverage, mention of the other is often greeted with eye-rolling outside of specialist circles.

Simon Taylor and Colin G Platt discuss the crypto bloodbath we're currently witnessing, Kraken returning as well as bringing you interviews with two Ryan's, Blockstack founder Ryan Shea and the Two Bit Idiot & international man of mystery himself Ryan Selkis.

Simon Taylor is joined by Pete Townsend, Chris Mills and Zeynep Meric-Smith to discuss where asset management is heading for in 2018.

In this episode David and Jason were joined by colleagues Pete Townsend and Ross Gallagher (making his Fintech Insider debut), from our Pulse and Research Team, to tackle the latest news from the last week, alongside regular guests Sarah Kocianski and Charlie Wood. Regulatory based news unsurprisingly steals the limelight, however we also bring you that outrageous Kodak stock rise as well as and an interview with Claudia Bate- Author of "The Fads, The Fears and The Future" where overhyped trends and technologies are discussed.

Simon Taylor and Colin G Platt discuss Ripple's monumental rise, Bitconnect and an interview with Ville Sointu from Nordea.

Simon Taylor heads up an insights show focusing on wealth management, what it is and how it differs from asset management. He is joined by special guests Joe Parkin, Gemma Godfrey, Phil Smith, Olivia Vinden & Gareth Johnson.

We kick off 2018 with an all 11:FS cast as Simon Taylor, David M. Brear, Andra Sonea & Benedict Shegog discuss this weeks top news including upcoming regulation and the impact of open banking.

In the first show of 2018 Simon Taylor and Colin G Platt bring you the week's news, plus an interview with Coindesk's Peter Rizzo.

As it's the Christmas break we are not here this week, so instead of the usual news overview we're giving you an interview-only special show, featuring Tim Swanson and Somil Goya from new smart contracts start up Adjoint.

Seasons Greetings to all our listeners! We bring you a festive hamper of outtakes from over the last year on Fintech Insider!

In this episode, host David Brear and co-hosts Nigel Walsh and Sarah Kocianski visit Aviva's Digital Garage for InsurTech Insider's very first takeover show!

It's the After Dark Christmas Special and that means we're bringing you a recap of all the top stories from 2017, recorded in front of a live audience. Regular hosts Simon Taylor, David M. Brear, Jason Bates and Chris Skinner are joined by friends of the show Sarah Kocianski and Leda Glyptis.

Sam Maule hosts the latest State of the Union show, recorded live from the South East Fintech Venture Conference in Charlotte, North Carolina.

Colin G Platt rejoins Simon Taylor for a second consecutive show in London to break down the week's news.

Jason Bates and Simon Taylor are joined by Kadhim Shubber, Liz Lumley, Sarah Kocianski and wonderful surprise guest Ghela Boskovich.

Jason Bates talks to a crack team of experts to find out about the pressures facing small businesses and the solutions that rapid technological change can provide

Hey, banks! This might sting a bit. You’re getting loyalty all wrong - and it’s costing you customers. But all is not lost!
The entire world is buzzing about AI, and that ain't changing anytime soon. But as AI becomes more integrated into our daily lives, what impact will it have on financial services and how people interact with them?
It's not just a buzzword.
Ever wanted to know what’s going on behind the scenes every time we make a payment?
Regulation is essential. It stops banks from going bust or behaving badly.
The invention of the computer revolutionised banking in the 1950s.
Lending has been around for thousands of years and is one of the cornerstones of banking.
They're down, but they're not certainly not out.
Mastercard and Visa are the two biggest credit card networks in the world.
We kick off our Decoding: Banks series with a look at the banking landscape today and how we got here.

The UK banking battlefield has never been more competitive. Customers expectfinancial apps that are personalised, seamless, and that genuinely make a differenc...


The UK banking battlefield has never been more competitive. Customers expectfinancial apps that are personalised, seamless, and that genuinely make a differenc...

